THE FAMILY LIFE OF A HERO
by pennyreth87
Summary: This story does not follow the Deathly Hallows. After the Final Battle Harry Potter becomes a professional Quidditch player and gets married with Ginny Weasley. A year after the wedding, a misunderstanding between Harry/Ginny and Molly Weasley, made the c


A/N: This story does not follow the Deathly Hallows

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**A/N: **_This story does not follow the Deathly Hallows. After the Final Battle Harry Potter becomes a professional Quidditch player and gets married with Ginny Weasley. A year after the wedding, a misunderstanding between Harry/Ginny and Molly Weasley, made the couple leave England for a long time. After many years, they return and they welcome to their house a reporter for an exclusive interview. I hope that one day, I'll be able to write the story that precedes the interview. I'll try to fill the gaps the best way I can, so you will not get confused! _

_Many thanks to my wonderful beta "birkiguy"!_

_The Witch Weekly presents:_

_**The family life of a hero**_

_By Rebecca Stone_

_I apparated t__o Peverell's End in the outskirts of Godric's Hollow, and made my way to the cottage standing at the end of the road. As I neared the house, I couldn't help but stop and admire the view. Behind the cottage, lay a serene forest of elm and evergreen, and on the right I could see the crystal waters of a lake. I couldn't help myself from imagining, how the whole place would look during the night, when the pale full moon rises. I gathered my courage and pulled open the gate of the house… "Merlin it is huge," I muttered impressed. No, it was not a manor. Just a simple three floor cottage with a beautiful garden surrounding it. "Welcome to the Potter residence!" I thought. I rang the bell, the door opened and there he stood. Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, The Man Who Conquered The Dark Lord. I couldn't believe my luck. I was finally meeting the living legend and I was the first journalist to set foot in his most protected house! He welcomed me with a smile (God, he is__ handsome__!) and closed the door behind me. As we were making our way to the sitting room, I couldn't help but notice the kitchen through an open door._

"_May I…?" I asked uncertainly and he nodded. Clean and sunny, the big kitchen made me feel home-sick, so warm was that feeling of … family. The kitchen table was long with several chairs around it._

"_Big family, huh?" I asked Harry. He started laughing._

"_You have no idea" he said with a wink._

_We finally went into the sitting room. My eyes were caught by a portrait hanging over the fireplace. It was of Ginny Potter._

"_Your wife is very beautiful!" I said and Harry beamed at me. Despite the fact that it was a muggle portrait, I had the feeling that she would walk out of the frame any minute and join us._

"_Who made it?" I asked._

"_Harry did," a new voice answered. I turned and came face to face with none other than Ginny Potter. I must have had a funny look on my face, because she added._

"_No one can believe that Harry is such a talented painter. He made this portrait when he was 18. A special present for my 17__th__ birthday"._

_I chanced a look at Harry. He was blushing and looking at his feet._

"_Shall we sit?" Ginny motioned me to an armchair, while she and her husband took the opposite couch. A house elf appeared carrying a tray with tea, pumpkin juice and cake. I took out my note pad and my quick notes quill and the interview started…_

_Witch Weekly: After a 16 year career, what made you finally quit Professional Quidditch, Harry?_

_Harry Potter:__ I'm getting old. I am 34. I don't have the reflexes I had, when I started at the age of 18. Plus, I wanted more time with my family. Practice and travels all around the world kept me away from home. I think it's time for me to settle down._

_**W.W.: How do you feel now that you left the Quidditch Pitch?**_

_H.P.:____Honestly? I feel like my heart is ripped in two. Quidditch was one of my greatest loves. The only time I could forget everything was when I was flying with my broom._

_**W.W.: You've stayed out of the media's spotlight all these years. Why did you do it and how did you manage it?**_

_H.P.:__ The media were after me since my parents died. They were hunting me everywhere, publishing a few skewed-truths, but mostly lies; not only about me but also about my family and friends. Whatever was needed for you to know was told during those times after the matches at the press meetings. I wanted a quiet life for my children. I don't want them to be pointed at in the streets, like I was._

_**W.W.: You spent the first 3 years of your career in Puddlemere United. Then you played for the French Quidditch League for 11 years. Your last 2 years, you returned to Puddlemere United. What made you move in France?**_

_H.P.:__ We went to theFrench Riviera for our honeymoon. We loved it. Also, one of our sisters-in law is French, you know Fleur Delacour-Weasley. She had spoken to us about her country. We made the decision to live in Riviera fairly suddenly, Ginny and I. We never regretted it._

_**W.W.: It was rumored that a family disagreement caused you to flee.**_

_H.P.:__ That is not true. We didn't flee. We decided to go there for a more peaceful life_.

_**W.W.: Anyway, you**__**'ve know each other since you were 11. After a 3 year dating relationship, 15 years of marriage and 6 children, are you still as much in love as, when you were 17?**_

_Ginny Potter: Actually, we have 8 children (Ginny laughs)._

_**W.W.: I'm sorry, I didn't know.**_

_G.P.: Of course you didn't know. We k__ept a low profile, didn't we? Well you see, firstly were the twins, James and Sirius 13, then came Lily 11, Arthur 9, William 7, Albus 6 and the second set of twins: Molly and Angela 4._

_**W.W.: Wow! Quite a handful, huh?**_

_G.P. & H.P.: No kidding!_

_**W.W.: Tell me more about your children.**_

_G.P.: They are __each very special in their own unique way! James and Sirius are our firstborn, our boys. Lily is… well she is Lily! She had her father wrapped around her little finger from the minute she was born. All red hair and green eyes, the miniature of his mother, Lily Evans Potter. Arthur and William are the only red haired and blond boys._

_**W.W.: **__**Blond?**_

_H.P.: From my aunt Petunia, my mother's sister. Blond hair, blue eyes._

_G.P.: Albus, the youngest boy. We almost lost him when he was born. Terrible agony._

_H.P.: And the twins Molly and Angela. After Lily, I wanted a second daughter. Two more came. Now I wish I hadn't even thought about it (he laughs). I'm only joking. These two have caused more trouble than the other 6 put together. But I don't regret having them. It's worth seeing their smiles and feeling their love from their hugs and kisses._

_**W.W.: **__**Well, I'm speechless!! You were in "exile" all these years, far from your family. How on earth did you manage to raise 8 children all alone Ginny, when Harry had to leave for days or even for weeks at a time?**_

_G.P.: Well, it wasn__'t a piece of cake. I have to admit that raising all these children is a difficult task. I remember myself asking my mother once, how she managed to raise 7 children and not go mental. Every time I had to face a difficult situation, my mother's advice was popping in my head and the problem was solved within moments. Harry helped me a lot. I mean it. He is a wonderful father. I couldn't have done it without him (the couple look at each other smiling and Ginny grasps the hand of her husband and squeezes it affectionately)._

_**W.W.: So where are your children now?**_

_G.P.: If I told you that they are upstairs, what would you say?_

_**W.W.: That you are bluffing**__**. The house is too quiet!**_

_(Ginny laughs)_

_G.P.: True! When they are here the whole house shakes from all the racket they cause. No, they are with their grandparents now. We could use some quality quiet time!_

_**W.W.: What are you going to do with your life now Harry?**_

_H.P.: I haven't given it much of a thought.__ I will stay home with my wife and children for the time being and enjoy my time with them. What else is there to do?_

_**W.W.: So, you are not going to join the Ministry as an Auror or**__** announce your candidacy as the next Minister of Magic?**_

_H.P.: Really now! __ See? Who spreads these rumors, I have no idea. When I was young, I wanted to become an Auror. Yet, after a year on the run to save my life, after all the encounters with Voldemort and his Death Eaters and the terror of the Final Battle, I believe it is finally time for me to hang back. My duty to the wizarding world is finished. I have seen enough death through the years of Voldemort's ascendance. What is more, I have caused too much pain and fear to Ginny when Voldemort was hunting me. I could never let her relive it again and again. Because that's what would happen, if I joined the Aurors. She would be worried sick and our lives would be hell. So my answer is no. I will not become an Auror and of course I don't want to become the next Minister of Magic, thank you very much!_

_**W.W.: So, it is a backstage life for the man who was on the stage for 3 decades…**_

_H.P.: Yeah, I guess, you can say that…_

_**W.W.: And what about you Ginny?**__** Until now you were a wife and mother. What lies next for you?**_

_G.P.: I will continue to be a mother and wife for the rest of my life. No changes there…_

_**W.W.: There are**__**n't any great ambitions?**_

_G.P.: My greatest ambition in life was to marry Harry and become a good wife and a wonderful mother for his children. __ I believe I've been pretty successful, so far. Why change that?_

_**W.W.: Thank you so much for the interview.**__** I feel so honored and I had such a wonderful time getting to know you!**_

_G.P.: The pleasure and the honor are all ours. We had a great time as well._

_H.P.: Thank you! _

"So you didn't reveal the real reason, that made you leave England, huh?" Ron asked, setting the magazine on the table. Harry fixed him with a glare, but Ginny looked at him like he had sprouted a second head.

"And inform the whole wizarding world that my mother made Harry's life a living hell, because Cho-bloody-Chang was stalking him in the locker rooms?" she spat out angrily over her cup of coffee.

Ron was lost for words.

"Really Ronald, if you were in Harry's shoes, would you ever divulge, to a reporter nonetheless, that your mother-in-law, whom you thought loved you as dearly as her own children, accused you of cheating on her daughter?"

"Well, no…"

"Would you dare mention that she threatened to destroy your life, if you didn't leave your wife?"

"No…"

"Then why in the name of Merlin, do you ask stupid questions?"

"I, I… you see…"

"Look mate," Harry interfered. "It's no good to linger in sad memories. And these are very, very sad memories. While we were in France we tried our best to forget the reason we couldn't see you, why we weren't at the Burrow for the Sunday family meals, why no one was there for the birth of every child we had! We pretended that we were happy and that it was not a forced decision to live over there! And you know what? We were happy, when we could forget. But when there were moments that the cruel reality came back to us, when we knew that nothing could fill the gap we had in our hearts. But now it's all over, thank God, and we'd prefer to leave it at that. Your mother has apologized over her behavior and everyone is happy now. Leave the past alone."

"I'm sorry," Ron said. "I didn't mean to upset you. You are right." He smiled faintly. "Yeah, everyone is happy now."

_The End_

**A/N: So what do you think? Review please!!**


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